


Exotic Pets and How to Keep Them

by ChickenGoesMoo



Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Childhood Sweethearts, Childhood Trauma, Growing Up Together, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 08:34:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19787185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChickenGoesMoo/pseuds/ChickenGoesMoo
Summary: A story of three cursed boys growing up together like princes locked away in a castle. One a frosty dragon, another a silver tongued serpent, and the last a loyal dog.It was truly the stuff of fantasy. At least, that was what they told themselves when times got tough growing up. Thankfully they had eachother to lean on when those hard times hit.They would always have each other.





	Exotic Pets and How to Keep Them

The first time either Shugure or Ayame met Hatori they were unaware that he was a Zodiac member.

Both boys had turned five several months before. Considering they were both roughly the same age, the only ones of that age in the main house, and the same energy level, most of the time they found different ways to entertain themselves.

Of course, that could also be read as, ‘they found the most creative ways to cause incidents and be overall nuisances around the Sohma household.’ Of course, they got away with just about everything considering the cursed lives they lived. To a five year old, that was pretty awesome.

Of course, several days before they met Hatori for the first time they were rushed into their rooms by the women of the house as an ambulance sped through the front gates, blaring it’s horn while other people rushed to its aid.

Shigure was almost put into his own separate rooms until he gave the maid directing him there his best puppy eyes, as well as explaining to the easily tricked young woman that winter had come early that year and he worried about his friend getting too cold and transforming in the night.

All that night they stayed up in Ayame’s bed, cuddling for warmth, legs tangled together, giggling and telling stories about what must have happened to cause them to be rushed to their rooms in such a manner.

By the time dawn broke on the next day the entire incident the night before was forgotten, and they resumed their reign of terror on the household.

Three days later, they found themselves further into the main house than they usually traveled. It was mostly empty with the exception of servants, and occasionally their parents when they decided to visit. Technically their parents lived there too, but they were always to busy to stay long. The servants always assured them that they were important people, but they were beginning to get to the age that they weren’t believing that anymore. Possibly that was what lead to their behavioral problems. Maybe it would have been the same if their parents actually were there. It was one of those questions that they would ask themselves in their later years of reflection.

As it was, the two mischief makers found themselves in a previously unoccupied wing of the house, out of breath from running from the head maid, only to find stacks upon stacks of boxes littering the halls.

One evil look exchanged was all it took for them to push the doors open and sneak inside to greet the newcomer in their own special way.

They definitely didn’t expect to see the walls upon walls of aquariums full of exotic, tropical fish, glass tanks full of snakes, and terrariums full of musical, colorful frogs.

The room, despite it being winter outside, was warm enough to chase away the shivers ravaging Ayame’s slender form. It even helped return a healthy flush to his much too pale cheeks. 

They grinned at each other after looking at the walls in wonder, shooting the other a quick thumbs up before ducking behind a very large, still boxed tank when a voice was heard from the back of the room.

“Are you feeling better?” The calm male voice crooned softly. The man was turned away from the two boys when they peaked out from behind the package, a long, white trench covering the man’s broad shoulders.

The two boys blinked and zeroed in on the water filled glass that the man was tapping at gently with his finger. It was a fairly big tank. Surely it had something cool like a shark in it.

Whatever it was, the man was obscuring the view.

“I know you are scared, but it’s okay. It’s okay to be scared, or sad, or hurt. You don’t have to hide that. I will make sure nobody hurts you here, though. You don’t have to believe me now. We don’t know each other very well yet, but I would love to get to know you better if you give me the chance.” The man brushed his hand over the edge of the tank with a contemplative hum. “I’ll leave the lid off of the tank tonight, just in case. I’m going to go take a shower, grab a futon from the maids, and I will sleep right here next to you so I can monitor you. You can come out if you would like. Eat. I’ll be back.”

The man patted the tank and briskly departed, leaving the two boys alone in a room full of most of the servant’s worst nightmares.

Ayame and Shigure quickly dashed from their hiding place to inspect the tank, excited for what they might find inside. It wasn’t every day they found a secret room full of awesome creatures the likes of which they hadn’t seen in person before. Unless it was Ayame’s transformation 

“I bet it’s a shark!”

“Electric Eel!! It’s gotta be!!”

The boys crowded against the glass, pressing their noses against it in excitement.

Their eyes were met with nothing but long blades of grass and a few soggy food pellets.

“That guy is crazy,” Shigure whined. “He was talking to an empty tank!! What a weirdo! Let’s grab some frogs and leave.”

“Wait!!” Ayame hissed before pointing to an oddly swaying blade of grass.

Shigure squinted his eyes trying to see what his friend was pointing at. It took a few moments before Shigure’s admittedly fairly poor eyesight zeroed in on a very small, shivering, oddly tilted sea creature wrapped tightly around a blade of grass, obviously doing its best to hide in the makeshift kelp forest.

“What is that thing?” Ayame asked, poking the glass hard enough to make the sickly looking creature’s many frills flutter, panicked as it tilted sideways a little further, spinning chaotically in the water, revealing its second problem.

“It’s fin is hurt!!” Shigure gasped, also jabbing his finger against the glass.

“It’s so cute,” Ayame whispered, hands clasped to his face in excitement. “I wonder why it’s in this tank all alone. The tank is so big I bet I could climb in there and sit down next to you and it would still have room to swim.”

Shigure’s head snapped to attention when the sound of a door opening and shutting was made further into the private rooms. “We can look in on it later. After some research. And we can bring jars next time for snakes and frogs. Right now we need to leave.”

The young snake zodiac nodded, grabbing the dog’s hand with a giggle, and racing out of the rooms, pulling on each other’s arms and laughing the entire time.

It wouldn’t be for another week till they actually remembered to revisit this room.

It would be much longer still until they met Hatori in human form.


End file.
